After War
by JMS4
Summary: Just a fanfic following the events of Kingdom of Ash, so spoilers. I will ignore certain events because it is my fanfiction though; please keep that in mind. It will mainly be about an OC of mine and her interactions with Aelin's Court. She will also be paired with Fenrys eventually. Also Fenrys is not included in my character listing. I take that as a personal offence.
1. Chapter 1

Rowan walked through the streets of Orynth praying to gods that no longer existed that he could find a jeweler. It was Aelin's birthday tomorrow and most of her gifts were already done as was the preparation for her party that could been done today. Now all he had to do was get their rings engraved. As much as Aelin loved the rings she had pilfered from the barrow-wight she had commented earlier on how much better they would look if they were engraved. So this morning he had asked her for her ring. Granted it wouldn't be much of a surprise but she still didn't know how he was going to get them personalized for them.

He was dressed in a hood and unassuming clothes. Certainly not clothes suited for a King, but if he tried to go into the city without the hood he would be instantly surrounded and never get anything done. So far all of the jewelers he had been to either couldn't do what he wanted or had made a huge deal out of him being King. That got rather annoying rather quick. He wasn't used to that much attention. Even before when he was just a warrior people only looked at with fear in their eyes before giving him a wide birth. Now people were only giving him a wide birth because even if no one recognized him he was still a tall and imposing figure. Then he saw a small shop with various knives, swords, and jewelry on display. A sign boasted hand-crafted weaponry and jewelry. A Fae female was sitting comfortably in a chair with her feet propped up on a stool reading a book. She looked up as he got closer, "Can I help you," she asked.

"Do you do engravings?" He asked.

She stood and put her book down on the chair, he was surprised at how tall she was, only a few inches shorter than him. "It depends on what I'm engraving."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the rings and put them in her waiting palm. She turned them both over in her hand and examined them. "What do you want engraved?"

Out of his other pocket he pulled out the paper on which he had written what he wanted done. He wanted their names carved on the rings in both the common tongue and in the old language. She took the paper and looked at it then back at the rings still in her hand. She didn't even seem surprised at the names on the paper. "When do you need this finished by?"

"The end of today."

She paused at that, "I can't do this in one day." Of course she couldn't.

"Why not?" Rowan snapped tired of things not going his way today.

Not even a blink at his sharp tone, which he had to give her credit for. "When you engrave something onto metal it heats up and becomes too malleable to work with especially gold. You have to take time between each carving to let the metal cool or it will lose its shape. What you want written would take too long to cool. Especially because you want carvings on the inside and outside."

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. Then she put the rings down on the counter between them and pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. "I can, however, do your initials."

Rowan watched her write out the letters AAWG in the common tongue in rather beautiful script then the same, but in the old language. Then she wrote out RWG the same way. "Common tongue on the outside old language on the inside?"

"Yes."

She nodded and picked up the two rings and the piece of paper, "They'll be done in three and a half hours." Then she disappeared behind a curtain to what he assumed was a work shop. He stood there for a minute or two before her voice drifted back to him, "If you're going to wait here the entire time I have some books you can read."

Rowan huffed in annoyance and turned on his heel before saying, "I'll be back to pick them up in three and a half hours."

He swore he heard a slight chuckle from behind the curtain as he walked away.

After he left he went and ate lunch. Then walked around for the remaining time making sure to buy some hazel nut chocolates for Aelin. An apology just in case the rings got f*cked up. Which he doubted considering the skill he'd seen in the other items on display.

When he went back to the shop there was another person buying a wickedly curved knife. He picked one of the daggers on display and held it up testing the balance and weight; just another customer. The blade itself was sharp, with a good balance and weight, not to mention the craftsmanship of the handle. Simple but beautiful and still useful in a fight or battle. The other customer left with the knife wrapped in a package and he set down the dagger before walking up to her. She slipped the money from the previous sale into a drawer and walked back behind the curtain without looking at him.

When she came back she had both rings and handed them to him. "Satisfied?"

Rowan examined his ring first both carvings were done beautifully. The same with Aelin's, but on the other side of the emerald was a small intricate engraving of a stag. He looked up at her and she raised both brows in question leaning her hip on the counter arms crossed. "They're beautiful," he admitted. He slipped both rings in his pocket and asked, "How much do I owe you?"

She tilted her head to the side and named her price. Now he was no jeweler but he knew she was under charging him. "You're under charging me." Not a question.

"I am."

"Why?" If it was because he was King then he was going to be rather annoyed. After all she hadn't made big deal about him being King yet. Why would she now?

She read the word in his eyes, "No it's not because you're King. It's because of what you and Aelin both risked and sacrificed to save Terrasen."

Rowan cocked his head to the side and looked at her more closely. From the accent she was certainly from Terrasen. She just kept looking at him. Then he put it together. "You're one of the Lost Fae of Terrasen that Aelin called during the last battle."

"I am, but thanks to Aelin I think we're content to just be called the Fae of Terrasen."

He nodded and paid what she asked for before turning away. Then he turned back and asked, "What's your name?"

"Arklynn," was the response.

Rowan nodded again and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Arklynn replied and he walked away.

* * *

Later that night when he was in their bed chambers, he pulled out the rings again and looked at them in the dying firelight. Aelin came out of the bathroom and walked over to him. "Are those the rings?"

He nodded and handed them to her before pulling her smoothly into his lap. "Happy early birthday Aelin."

She smiled at him and examined the rings. "They're beautiful," she said softly and slipped the larger ring onto his finger. Then she looked more closely on the stag on her ring. "The Lord of the North," she said then looked at him, "the craftsmanship on this is beautiful. Did you design this?"

"No the jeweler did."

"Well I have to say that this is impressive."

"She also had a rather impressive collection of hand crafted weapons."

Aelin grinned and slipped the ring on her finger before kissing him. "Hmm well now I know where I'm going to buy most of the gifts for this Yulemas."

Rowan laughed at that, "Glad I could help," and kissed her again.


	2. Chapter 2

Lorcan was in the training room with the rest of the remaining Cadre. He had come on a visit with Elide from Perranth under the notion that she desperately needed a break. Which was true no one had been working harder than Elide to rebuild Perranth. He also had another reason however. He wanted to propose to her and he had a plan to do it, but not the rings.

Never once in the five-hundred plus years he had been alive did he ever contemplate buying a wedding ring. So naturally he had no idea where to start. The only married one of them was Rowan and Aelin had basically stolen their rings from an ancient treasure trove. Which honestly he thought would be easier, but Elide would probably yell at him for stealing. So he was instead going to ask Rowan where he had gotten their rings engraved. Aelin had been very showy of them at her birthday party and it had been easier to just nod at them when they had been passed to Elide and him by default. He did, however, have to admit that the craftsmanship was impressive. Rowan had also mentioned that the Fae who ran it seemed like a no nonsense kind of person. Lorcan could appreciate that.

So when they were all taking a water break Lorcan just ripped off the bandage. "Rowan where did you get your rings engraved?"

Cue Gavriel, Fenrys, and Rowan looking at him like he was insane. Fenrys grinned at him like a godsdamned cat, "Lorcan I'm so glad you finally accepted who you are. I mean no one ever believed me when I told them how soft and obsessive over small details you are. Really it's touching." He put a hand over his heart and wiped a fake tear.

Lorcan snarled and lunged at him. Gavriel pulled him back before his punch could make contact. Fenrys just kept grinning and when he snarled again Rowan rolled his eyes and said, "Why do you want to know Lorcan?"

He stepped away from Gavriel and replied, "When we get back to Perranth I plan on proposing to Elide and I need rings."

Rowan nodded and Gavriel slapped him on the back in comradery. Then Fenrys put his hand on Lorcan's shoulder, "Well good luck to her and you." Which was probably the least offensive thing Fenrys had said to him in awhile. He then left, " I'll see you all at dinner.

Gavriel turned to the two of them and said, "I'm babysitting Evangeline the rest of the day with Aedion," he left too.

Whitethorn turned to him, "I got the rings engraved at a stall in Orynth. I'm going to shower then I can take you there."

Lorcan nodded he really didn't want to shop for rings with anyone, but if he had to pick someone it would be Whitethorn. They and the rest of the cadre had gotten closer under Aelin's rule. Before, while they had been brothers, Meave had enjoyed pitting them against each other, so certain walls had always stayed up.

Thirty minutes later Rowan and Lorcan had showered and dressed in unassuming clothes. That was one thing that rather annoyed Lorcan now that he was a Lord, or about to become one, people were more likely to come up to him. It annoyed Rowan too he knew. They walked for about two hours making small talk when they came to a stall at the end of a street filled with other vendors. The stall was also set a good few feet away from others. Lorcan already liked it better.

There was a Fae female, the owner he assumed, sitting on a stool behind a counter talking to a noble. He and Lorcan looked at the various daggers and knives she had displayed. There were also rings, earrings, and necklaces out as well, but the few rings did not really look like wedding rings. Or at least ones that he thought Elide would like. He did, however, start paying attention to the conversation the noble and the Fae were having. Especially when he heard her say, "In the nicest way possible please f*ck off for at least another hour."

The noble looked highly affronted and Lorcan had to repress a chuckle and he heard a quiet one from Rowan. "How dare you say that to me? I am a nobleman of much higher class than you."

She gave him a long pissed off look and waved out her arm in an exaggerated gesture, "Lay thine eyes on thy field upon which I grow my f*cks and thou shalt see that it is barren." His eyes widened comically and he walked away with an offended huff and she rolled her eyes at his ridiculous antics.

Rowan put down the knife he had been looking at and walked towards the counter with smile on his face and Lorcan followed. "So what'd he do to piss you off?"

"He's come by four times in the last hour even though I told him the dagger wouldn't be done for two hours. And besides that noble people tend to piss me off. I'm not sure how you two do it all day."

Yeah, Lorcan wasn't either. Rowan raised a brow, "It gets annoying, but you learn how to tune them out. Besides do nobles commonly come to your stall Arklynn?" So that was her name.

"No," she replied, "it's mostly Fae and demi-fae because apparently I make humans uncomfortable, can't see why though." Yeah, Lorcan couldn't see it either. It couldn't possibly be the height or the weaponry or language. Or just her general disposition that made you think twice before speaking. "But I didn't always do this. So why did you come today?"

He looked at Lorcan and Lorcan swallowed and stepped a little closer to the counter, "I want to look at wedding rings."

She nodded and got off the stool and walked over to a wall of drawers. "So are you also looking for an engagement ring or just wedding bands."

What? "There's a difference?" He looked over at Rowan who looked just as confused as he did.

Arklynn turned her head to look at him. She had a slightly amused expression on her face. "Yes an engagement ring is what you give to the female when you propose and always has at least one stone in the center. The wedding bands are what you exchange during the actual ceremony." She pulled out two drawers and placed them on the counter for him to look at. "What most women do is that until the day of the wedding they wear their engagement ring then they take it off. Rings are exchanged during the ceremony and then when the women get home they put the engagement ring back on. Or they just wear one or the other."

Well. "The man doesn't where any sort of engagement ring right?"

"No he doesn't wear any ring until the wedding."

"Even I knew that Lorcan." Rowan commented dryly from where he had backed up and was again looking at weapons.

Lorcan just glared at him slightly and turned back to the rings and Arklynn. "I guess I'll get an engagement ring too." She just nodded and he looked at the various rings. One box contained rings with jewels and the other just had bands in different shades of gold and silver.

"I also have a booklet of designs if you don't like any of those."

Lorcan nodded and decided that it would just be easier if he just chose the wedding bands first; as that is what they are apparently called. He picked up a silver band and flipped it around in his hand. He knew Elide would want something simple and so did he. The ring also had small line engravings that he rather thought Elide would like. He certainly did, however, this ring would neither fit him or Elide.

He held it up to Arklynn, "I like the line engravings on this."

She nodded and took it from him, "I don't suppose you know know your ring size or your future fiancee's?"

"I know mine but not her's."

Arklynn nodded and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen of wrote down some number. She then took the ring, placed it back in the box, and slide it back into the wall of drawers. Then she walked back over and crouched down behind the counter, then came up with two different drawers.

In them were replications of different sized hands. He looked at her curiously. "Most men don't know their lover's ring size when they come to buy rings so I made these to solve the problem. You just pick the one that's closest to her hand and that tells me her ring size." Now he and Rowan were giving her a weird look. "I've been in this business for over 50 years. This is not the first time I've had this problem. After all it's really hard to keep an engagement a surprise when you ask a question like what's your ring size."

Lorcan nodded in understanding and chose the one closest to Elide's hand size. She nodded, "5. Your ring size? I'm going to guess 11 and a half."

He blinked, "Correct and I have to admit that's a little creepy."

She shrugged, "Keep looking at engagement rings. I'll go start on the wedding bands," then disappeared behind a curtain.

He continued to look at the rings and couldn't decide between two. He turned to Rowan, he couldn't believe he was about to ask this, at least it wasn't Fenrys. "What do you think?"

Rowan turned to look at the two choices he was holding. The one in his right hand was a simple thin silver band with a diamond cut in a square. The second was a bit fancier with one diamond surrounded by a flower pattern and then smaller diamonds on each side. He preferred that one, but wanted a second opinion. Rowan took the one from his left hand and examined it closer. "I think she would like this one more."

Lorcan nodded his agreement. Arklynn came out a minute later, "Decided?" He nodded again and showed it to her, "Good choice." She then wrote another number on the same piece of paper. Then asked, "Do you want the line engravings on both wedding bands or just hers?"

"Both."

Arklynn nodded and grabbed the remaining box and ring from him, "You can pick up all three rings tomorrow." Then disappeared behind the curtain again.

"Well," he turned to Rowan who had spoken, "that was our dismissal." Lorcan nodded and they left the stall.

"I rather like her. There aren't many who would dismiss the King of Terrasen and a well-known Fae warrior like that."

Rowan grinned slightly, "I thought you would."

They walked for a while then Lorcan said, "I wonder what would happen if she and Aelin met?"

At that Rowan shuttered slightly, "There would be blood; the only thing that would be worse would be if she met Manon at the same time."

Lorcan just shook his head, "Don't say that it's enough to give me nightmares." Rowan chuckled and walked then fell into a comfortable silence that stayed until they got back to the castle.

* * *

The next day Lorcan went back to Arklynn's stall, alone, to pick up the rings. When he got there though, a young red headed demi-fae was sitting at the counter talking (or more like flirting) with a human girl who was shopping with her parents, instead of Arklynn. For a moment he thought he had come to the wrong stall, but then she walked out from behind the curtain. "Tanner," she snapped, "what have a told you about flirting on the job."

The boy went the same shade as the color of his hair and mumbled something as the human girl giggled and walked away. She rolled her eyes and turned to the young boy, "Your dad's waiting for you out back." Wait was that her son? No, Lorcan sniffed the air; their scents were too different for them to be related."

He nodded and slid off the stool, "See yah later Aunt." Interesting. She nodded back to him and watched as he left out a door at the back of the stall.

Lorcan walked up to the counter as she turned towards him. "I'll grab them," she said before turning and disappearing behind the curtain. Not one to waste words then; another reason to like her. Less than a minute later she came back out holding to small boxes. Arklynn placed both on the counter.

He opened one of them and inside was the engagement ring. It looked exactly like the one he'd chosen yesterday only smaller. In the other box were the wedding rings. The line patterns were the same and the size looked right. Lorcan slipped his wedding ring on his finger, it fit perfectly. He took it off and put the ring back in its box and looked up at her.

Her face was a question, "Well?"

"I like them. How much?"

Arklynn named her price, and he nodded, and paid, then slipped both boxes into his pocket. "Thanks," He said as he walked away. She gave a noncommittal grunt in reply already moving back behind the curtain again. Yeah Lorcan really liked her.


	3. Chapter 3

When Aelin walked up to the stall that Rowan said was Arklynn's she was slightly skeptical. After all the demi-fae who was sitting on a stool looked nothing like the the Fae female he and Lorcan had described. He looked to be only seventeen or eighteen and had a head of bright red hair. Still she'd come all this way. She walked up to him, "Is this Arklynn's stall?"

He looked up at her words, "Yes," then peered up at her to try and see beneath the dark hood she wore. The glare he saw made him reel back and mutter, "If you want to talk to her privately go behind the curtain."

Aelin smirked slightly even though he couldn't see it and walked towards the curtain. She pulled it back and was surprised by the instant wave of heat that hit her. She blinked at it and looked at the open flame and the metal that looked like it was roasting over it.

The Fae in the room looked up at her as she let the curtain fall behind her. "You're Arklynn I assume." Aelin flipped off her hood.

She nodded and inclined her head in a bow in Aelin's direction, "I am. Is there anything in particular I can do for you today?"

Aelin nodded, sat in a chair, and propped her feet up on a work table. Arklynn raised her brows and Aelin just grinned in response. "I need you to make five daggers for me."

Arklynn just blinked at her. "Can you be more specific? After all I already have plenty of daggers made."

"I want five daggers made specifically for my blood-sworn."

"Alright." Arklynn picked up the metal off the fire and plopped it into a basin of water. Steam rose instantly from it and she fanned the air a little to decapitate the smoke.

The chair that she was sitting on had wheels and she rolled over to the worktable and pushed Aelin's feet off of it. They landed on the floor with a thump. She blinked in surprise as she was forced to sit up straighter in the chair. Oh yes Aelin really liked Arklynn.

"You have an idea about what you want I hope?" Arklynn opened a drawer and pulled out a few pieces of paper and a pencil.

When Aelin nodded Arklynn continued, "Okay so what size do you want the daggers to be and do you want them all to be the same size?"

Aelin sat forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "I want them all the same length and basic shape, the blade part especially, but the pommel and hilt personalized. Oh and this is the size I want it to be." From her boot she pulled out one of Rowan's daggers that she had stolen from his collection and offered it to Arklynn. It seemed to be the best option out of all of them.

She took it and examined it then made a bunch of notes on one of the pieces of paper. Then she handed the dagger back to Aelin. She put it back in her boot. "Okay so do you want these daggers to be for decoration or do they need to be useful in a fight."

"Well I want a lot of detail so just for decoration."

Arklynn nodded, "Got it. So who's do you want to start with?"

"Gavirel's."

"The lion."

"Yes and side-note I want all of the daggers to have a staghorn and the North Star and some kind of green and silver on them."

"Okay so how about the blades being the same with a carving of the stag of Terrasen and the star then the handles different."

"That sounds good." And so it went. Two and a half hours later all of the designs were written down and Arklynn had a good idea about what Aelin wanted.

"Alright well it will take me a couple weeks to do these. I have blades made for the most part, but the handles will take a while." Arklynn said as she and Aelin got up.

"As long as it's done in six weeks because that's when Lorcan and Elide's wedding is. I want to present them before then."

"I can do that. So I assume the rings went over well. Including yours I hope?"

Aelin grinned and showed off her ring dramatically. "You could say that."

Arklynn chuckled and they left her workshop. The demi-fae was still sitting at the front talking with a customer. Aelin flipped up her hood and Arklynn said, "I'll send a letter to you when I'm finished."

Aelin nodded, "Thanks for taking the time. And are you sure about that price?" She was holding a necklace that she told Rowan was a wedding gift for Elide. It was a great cover. Honestly she didn't like lying to him (especially after everything that had happened), but she wanted to surprise him and the rest of the cadre just once. It was incredibly hard to do when they were all so old and suspicious. Except for Aedion the suspicious part fit him too though.

"Yes, like I said before I don't really do this for money. I do it because I'm immortal and there's nothing better to do."

"You could always travel."

They walked to the front of the stall, "Nah I've already done that."

"Of course you have," Aelin muttered.

A slight tilt of her lips, "See you in a few weeks."

"Bye." Aelin left then and started the long walk back to the castle. But she stopped to buy some chocolate first.

When she got back to her and Rowan's room he was sitting at a desk doing paperwork. He looked up when she arrived. "Did you find Eldie's present?"

"Yep," she set the package on the table and walked to the walk in closet dropping weapons and clothes as she went. From the closet she said, "And I rather like Arklynn. She's very blunt and has no tolerance for bullshit. I can appreciate that."

Rowan chuckled, "Yeah I thought you might like her. After all even Lorcan didn't have anything negative to say about her."

Aelin chuckled in agreement. Good he didn't suspect a thing.

...

Five weeks later all of Aelin's court were sitting at the dinner table save for Ren who would come only a day before the wedding. He was very busy with business in his land; it was just Aelin, Rowan, Elide, Lorcan, Gavirel, Aedion, Lysandra, Evangeline, and Fenrys. They were talking and chatting comfortable, all glad that war was over, when a messenger came in with a letter.

He bowed at the doorway and announced, "A letter for you Queen Aelin."

She nodded to him, "You may stand and approach." He seemed slightly nervous at the sight of Erilea's greatest warriors all sitting together, but was keeping his cool. He handed her the letter, bowed again, and left.

The envelope was blank, but Aelin had a pretty good idea of who it was from. She opened it with a sharp nail and read the two words on the page "They're ready." She smiled to herself and lit the piece of paper on fire.

It burned to ash instantly. "What was that?" Rowan asked head cocked to the side in a decidedly bird-like manner.

"Can't be anything good," Aedion muttered into his glass, "she smiled and burned the evidence."

Aelin grinned at her cousin, "Whatever did I do to have you question my trust," she asked in an innocent tone.

"Would you like a list? I keep it alphabetized," he deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Well it's not like he's lying," Fenrys said. In fact I'll bet Rowan helped him write it along with Gavirel, Lorcan, and Elide."

Aelin just shrugged, "I don't Lorcan trusted me in the first place."

"She's right," Lorcan agreed, "Wow I didn't think I'd ever say that."

Elide elbowed him in the ribs lightly, "You didn't trust a _nyone_ until I came along. Besides I know what it is and it won't cause anyone at the table bodily harm."

"What about other kinds of harm," Fenrys said, "after all you didn't mention emotional and just because it won't cause anyone at the table harm does not mean it won't cause others harm."

"While you do have a point Fenrys," Lysandra cut it, "I also know what the surprise is and it will cause harm to no one at all."

"Well at least Elide knows," Aedion said, "that way I know it won't be too bad."

"Well gee it's great to see how much faith my court has in me even after I saved all of Erilea."

"Oh great," Gavirel muttered as those words started a heated argument about 'who raised the most hell against the Vlag' as Aelin so demurely put it.

Evangeline leaned over to Gavirel and whispered, "They fight like cats and dogs. You should do something about it before someone starts throwing food."

"Me?" Gavirel asked slightly surprised.

The young girl nodded sagely, "I would but my voice isn't loud enough."

Gavirel nodded at the young girl and turned to the rest of the court where yes it did look like food was about to fly. "Everyone be quiet!" Gavirel shouted.

Surprisingly everyone did and turned to him expectantly, "Can we please just agree that we all helped with the war effort and be glad that it's over? After all there are more than a few who won't even get the chance to live after what happened much less argue about who fought the best during it."

The silence was deafening as everyone who had been arguing looked rather guilty. Rowan was the first to break the silence, "Yes thank you Gavirel for being to voice of reason. Though it probably won't be last time." He shot a glance at the two cousins who had been at the epicenter of the argument.

Aelin nodded then grinned over at Gavirel, "What would we do without you Uncle Kitty-Cat?"

Aedion choked on the drink he had been sipping as Lysandra, Elide, and Fenrys started howling with laughter. Evangeline giggled along with them. Even Rowan and Lorcan couldn't hide their smiles at the joke. Gavirel just stared at the satisfied grin on Aelin face. "It's only been a year' he thought dryly 'what's going to happen in a hundred'.

...

The next day Aelin slipped away from the castle unseen with Elide and Lysandra in tow. Evangeline was doing her job making sure the males were all occupied. The girl was doing a damn good job too. She had everyone wrapped around her finger and played it to her advantage well. Even Lorcan was under the young girl's spell. Aelin personally couldn't wait until she was old enough to be a lady. That was going to be interesting. They went unnoticed for the most part and their walk to Arklynn's stall was uneventful.

Arklynn smiled at their approach and stood up from her stool, "I assume you're here to get the finished products."

When Aelin nodded she headed to the back of the stall. Before that though she stuck her head behind the curtain and said, "Tanner watch the front of the stall for me."

"Okay," a male's voice said. A few seconds later the young demi-fae Aelin had seen a few weeks earlier came out.

He smiled tentatively at Aelin and her companions as he slipped by them to go sit on the stool. They continued to follow Arklynn as she opened a door at the back of her stall and walked through it. Elide was the last through and she shut the door behind her.

Aelin asked curiously, "Was that your son?"

"Oh no he's the adopted son of my best friend. So I suppose you could call Tanner my nephew. I'm apprenticing him."

Aelin nodded, "This is Lady Elide and Lysandra of Perrnath and Caraverre."

Arklynn nodded to them both, "Ready to see the daggers?"

Aelin grinned excitedly, "Yes but," she looked at the six boxes lined up on a table, "there were supposed to be five not six."

"Ah, well I may or may not have made for for you too. For the same price as previously agreed of course."

Shocked Aelin asked, "Why?"

Arklynn raised both brows at her, "Do you really even need to ask?"

"She does have a point," Elide and Lysandra sing-songed together.

Aelin sent both of them a look then turned back to Arklynn, "That was completely unnecessary you know that right?"

"Oh I'm well aware but after I finished the others I couldn't resist making one for you as well. Because to honest these are probably some of the best things I've ever made."

"Well alright," Aelin grumbled, "But at least let me pay for mine too."

"Not an option. Just look at them."

Aelin narrowed her eyes a little at Arklynn who just stared back. "I'm not going to convince you otherwise am I?"

"Nope."

She sighed, but dropped it and turned to look at the daggers. Lysandra had already opened the one of the boxes. "Damn," she muttered under her breath.

Elide stepped closer to them, "These carvings are beautiful. Is it the Old Language?"

Aelin walked closer to the table. "Yes," Arklynn replied, "It's all of your names. The one Lysandra is holding is yours Aelin."

Lysandra was holding one of the daggers and Aelin took it from her, "Holy Gods," she muttered when she saw it.

After they had looked at them all and repeated their praise about twelve times each, Aelin put the boxes in an plain cloth bag. They would stop at the market to pick up a few chocolates to put on top. Hopefully it would deter any of the males from looking too much farther into the bag.

…

Arklynn watched the three women walk from her shop, getting smaller the further they went. Her head was slightly cocked to the side as she considered the empty space that the women had just been filling at the end of the street. Pride. She was filled with pride at what she'd done. Those daggers had been a monumental effort on her part and she'd been working down to the bone to finish them in time. Even though the artistry and craftsmanship had been exquisite she still worried; as she always did about how they would be received. Even with the reactions she'd already gotten from Aelin, Elide, and Lysandra. It was obvious the daggers would be used in some ceremonial way; private or public. Though considering some of those details it was more likely that it would be a very private event. It went without saying that Aelin trusted her enough to give her even a glimpse into that part of their lives. And to keep her mouth shut about all of it. She felt honored.

Her nephew, upon seeing her face spoke up, "I don't understand why you're still worrying Aunt. Hell, I don't see why you were worried in the first place. Those daggers were impressive even for you. Not to mention how the ladies have already reacted. And both King Rowan and Lord Lorcan have already gotten things from you and were pleased with the results."

She shook her head a little and turned to her young nephew who was sitting up straighter in his chair, looking quite proud about his little speech. "Tanner, while you do have good points you must come to realize that even after 150 years of experience you still worry that your best won't be enough. In fact I'd argue that it makes you worry about it even more than when you're young."

Tanner made a face, "Well I'm not worried. I'm just doing my best and it's getting me everywhere I need to go."

Hmm, spoken like a true teenager. Especially like one who had immortality spread out before him. "Yes well as much as you think that, there is a stiletto with your name on it that needs to be sharpened and polished before it gets picked up in half an hour." He needed no more prompting; quickly got up and disappeared behind the curtain.

Arklynn smiled a little at his rush and sat down on the stool he'd just vacated. She went through the drawings he'd been doing grinning at each one. They were mostly portraits of people that had walked by and were all incredible. In fact it almost looked as if the drawings might turn their heads and speak to her. She was good at drawing daggers, rings, necklaces, and the other things that she sold purely from 150+ years of practice. He was good naturally; had been since he could pick up a pencil. For her it had always been easier to just see the object in her head and then make it. Though it was rare for a customer to trust her with that method, which she could understand. After all when you want something specific there's not usually room for artist interpretation. It was good practice for him to draw people she supposed, but then she saw one of a human girl. The one that she'd caught him flirting with countless times now. That was a recipe for disaster she thought. It hadn't quite sunk in for Tanner that he was immortal and likely to settle within a few years. Or at least he didn't understand what it was going to be like when the people around him starting aging and he didn't. Immorality was a gift in some ways and a curse in others.


End file.
